The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has named Galen Carey as Director of Government Affairs. Carey is a longtime employee of World Relief, the relief and development arm of the NAE. He will join the NAE staff on August 1, 2009.

Carey served as the Washington Director of Advocacy and Policy for World Relief from 2002-2004. He was known as a leading evangelical voice on refugee, immigration, and international relief and development issues. Most recently he established an HIV/AIDS network and worked as the Regional Program Advisor for the World Relief Great Lakes Region, based in Bujumbura, Burundi.

“Galen Carey brings a fresh approach to evangelical advocacy in Washington,” said Leith Anderson, president of the NAE. “He is a committed Christian who is active in his large multicultural church in Maryland. He has formal theological education with a master’s degree from an evangelical seminary and doctorate from a mainline seminary. Galen not only speaks about the growing number of Hispanics in our communities and churches but also speaks to them; he is fluent in Spanish. Caring for the vulnerable is not an abstract policy issue but a passionate personal commitment arising from more than twenty years living among the poor in Chicago and ten years working with victims of disaster, persecution and poverty from Africa to Indonesia. His concern for protecting the unborn comes not only from moral theorizing but also from his own journey as the father of a special needs child. Galen Carey speaks from experience.”

As the Director of Government Affairs, Carey will be responsible for representing the NAE before Congress, the White House and the Courts and will work to advance the approach and principles of the NAE document For the Health of the Nation: An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility.

“I am honored to be the fourth person in the NAE’s 67 year history to fill this important role,” Carey said. “I am excited to represent evangelical churches in Washington as we seek to protect children and families, promote religious freedom, peace and human rights, seek sustainable solutions to domestic and global poverty, promote a consistent ethic of life, and responsibly care for God’s creation. These are goals shared by many people of good will. I look forward to collaborating with the NAE’s many partners to promote the health and wellbeing of our great nation and to bless our neighbors throughout the world.”

Carey has worked with World Relief for 26 years. His previous assignments include Indonesia Disaster Response Director, Africa Regional Director, Mozambique Country Directory, and Midwest Area Director (Chicago). Carey also worked as a Consultant and Acting Head of Resettlement Unit, for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), based in Zagreb, Croatia.

His education includes B.A., History & Philosophy, Trinity International University, Deerfield, Illinois; Master of Divinity, Trinity International University, Deerfield, Illinois; Doctor of Ministry, McCormick Theological Seminary, Chicago, Illinois.